2-[2-(dimethylamino)ethoxy]ethanol (N,N-dimethylaminoethoxyethanol, DMAEE) is a commercially available compound (BASF Corporation, USA), which finds use, for example, as an intermediate in the synthesis of active pharmaceutical ingredients or a catalyst in polyurethane preparation.
DMAEE is prepared firstly by reacting diethylene glycol with dimethylamine over a catalyst (see, for example, EP-A 0 303 323, JP-A 62/051646, JP-A 08/143,520 and JP-A 09/020,735), and secondly by reacting N,N-dimethylethanolamine with ethylene oxide (see, for example, J. G. Cannon et al., Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences 62 (1973) 830 and U.S. Pat. No. 3,853,818).
Even though some of the processes mentioned are performed on the industrial scale, there is still a great deal of room for improvement, for example with regard to yields, selectivity, reaction times or simple workup.